Quad Cities Memorial Day Weekend Could Start Off Cool

Memorial Day weekend is normally the unofficial kickoff to summer. And when you think summer, you think of pools, the sun, boating on the Mississippi River, and especially, warm weather. Because it's the Quad Cities and we are in the Midwest, warm weather isn't always guaranteed, even to kickoff summer.

The start of Memorial Day weekend this year may bring cool temperatures which will continue to make you guess why you still live here.

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Mother Nature is at is again. To start the long Memorial Day weekend, temps are expected to cool off, especially on Friday. How cool can it get? It depends on what source you are looking at.

As of Monday, The Weather Channel is reporting that the high for the Quad Cities could only get to 58° with cloudy skies all day. Saturday is looking a little better with a high near 68° and partly cloudy skies. Sunday temps creep back up into the 70's with a predicted high of 74°. Memorial Day looks to be a little wet in the morning with a 30% chance of rain and a high of 75°.

Even though The Weather Channel is predicting highs in the upper 50's on Friday, there is hope in other forecasts.

The National Weather Service (NWS) of the Quad Cities is thinking to may be a tad warmer on Friday that the Weather Channel. This is the NWS of the Quad Cities' current forecast as of Monday:

Friday
- A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 66.
Friday Night
- Partly cloudy, with a low around 50.
Saturday
- Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.
Saturday Night
- Mostly clear, with a low around 54.
Sunday
- Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.

If we can break into the mid-to-upper 60's on Friday, I wouldn't be upset with that. If we see any high temperature that starts with a 5, excuse me while I pack my bags and get out of here!

Let's hope The Weather Channel is wrong on this one.

Iowa's Island City

There is something unique about every town, but there is really something special about Sabula, IA. Known as "Iowa's Island City," Sabula is the only town in the state of Iowa that is entirely on an island. While not a lot of people have been to, or live in Sabula, it is a quaint little town nestled right on the Mississippi River.

Before we show you around "Iowa's Island City," let me give you the history of Sabula. Sabula was established in 1835, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis. Isaac Dorman and a man named Hinkley crossed the river from the Illinois side on a log and decided to settle on what is now Sabula. An Ohio couple, James and Margaret Woods would settle on Sabula about a year later in April of 1836. Their son, Dr. E. A. Woods would purchase Hinkley's interest in the claim. Charles Swan and W. H. Brown would soon purchase Dorman's interest. The three men, Woods, Swan and Brown later had the land plotted in 1837.

The idea behind plotting the land was because there was no town between Lyons (north Clinton) and Bellevue. The plot of the new town was recorded in Dubuque as this area was part of Dubuque county at the time, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

According to Island City Harbor's website, Sabula went through a few names before landing on the official town name. In 1837, Sabula was first called Carrollport. Residents of the town didn't like the name because there was a man's name who was Carroll who had a bad reputation. The town changed its name to Charleston, after early settler Charles Swan. The only issue was that there was already a town called Charleston in Iowa which caused much confusion.

In 1846 the settler’s decided to find a name. Island City Harbor's website says that because of it’s sandy soil, William Hubble suggested the town be called "Sabulum" which is Latin for sand. A party was being held around the time the town name was being discussed, when a woman, supposed to be Miss Harriet Hudson, suggested the town be called Sabula as it was easier to pronounce and sounded more elegant, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

Sabula did not actually become an island until 1939. According to Wikipedia, in the 1930's, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the lock and dam system. In 1939, Lock and Dam No. 13 between Clinton, IA and Fulton, IL was built which caused the bottomlands west of the town permanently flooded. With the Mississippi River east of the town, this created the "Island City." A levee was built around Sabula in 1957 for protection, according to Island City Harbor's website. This also allowed for the south sand pit to be turned into a boat harbor.

I would like to thank my mom Beth, her fiancé Matt, my brother Nolan and my wife Ellie for accompanying me to Sabula. We always have a blast on our trips and this one was no exception.

It's now time to introduce you to Sabula, Iowa, Iowa's Island City.